More and more people are turning to pistol caliber carbines for home and vehicle defense. They’ve discovered that these short rifles with mild recoil and longer sight radius are much easier to hit with and can be fired much more rapidly than a handgun. PCCs have even become a mainstay of competition leagues like USPSA and IDPA. This has only added fuel to the fire for their demand.
AR-pattern carbines are especially popular because of their familiar layout of the safety/selector, magazine release and bolt catch. Switching from 5.56 to a 9mm carbine is an easy transition for most folks too. Not to mention, most shooters find the lack of muzzle blast a comforting advantage. Outfitted with a collapsing stock and a red dot, the light kicking 9mm carbine makes a great training gun for youngsters and even the elderly.
The versatility of the pistol caliber carbine should not be underestimated.
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Introducing the Wilson Combat AR-9
At the recent Athlon Outdoors’ Rendezvous, I had the opportunity to visit with Wilson Combat’s Guy Joubert. I’ve known Guy and his beautiful wife, Tressa, for decades it seems. Both are long-time Wilson Combat employees and I’m privileged to call them friends. Among the many hats Guy wears is that of captain of the Wilson Combat shooting team.
“We’ve (Wilson Combat) offered our AR-9 carbine for a number of years, and they have been very popular with pistol caliber carbine competitors. We didn’t just convert one of our AR15s, we reengineered the platform specifically for 9mm. We offer magazine-specific lowers to match your carry gun’s magazines. Glock is, by far, our most popular lower, but we also have lowers designed to work with the Beretta 92 mags as well as our own Wilson Combat EDC doublestack magazines.
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Without the 5.56’s blast these AR-9s are such a pleasure to shoot. I started my daughter with one, when she was 8 years old and she ran it like a sewing machine!
Our AR-9’s operate on a direct blowback system and we’ve weighted the bolt carrier to slow its velocity. We also use a proprietary hammer that is heavier, so it doesn’t bounce out of engagement. Other than that, anyone familiar with the AR platform will have no problem running our AR-9.”
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AR-9 PCC Familiarity
The safety/selector is located in the familiar position as is the bolt lock and magazine release-though it is enlarged for speed reloads. Also aiding a competitor’s reload is the huge magwell funnel that is integral to the billet lower receiver. Unlike some other AR pattern 9mm carbines, the Wilson Combat AR-9 features a last-round hold-open device that is activated by the magazine’s follower.
Our test carbine features a 15-inch long aluminum handguard with M-Lok slots for adding things like tactical lights, lasers, handstops etc. Wilson Combat outfits this rifle with a 16-inch 1:10 twist barrel that stabilized every bullet weight of 9 mm I put through it. Whether it was 115 grains or 147 grains, it produced exceptional accuracy. For suppressor use Wilson Combat threads the muzzle at ⅝ x 24 TPI and includes a thread protector cap. While at Rendezvous, I fired the AR-9 outfitted with a Wilson Combat Silent Bandit suppressor. Firing 147-grain subsonic loads this combination provided “Hollywood Quiet” results. I was tremendously impressed!
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Afterward, Joubert sent me the same gun I fired in Wyoming. This particular PCC is finished with what he calls a gray-based tiger-stripe finish. It’s not a hydrographic dip, but done instead by hand with stencils and accounts for an approximate $300 upgrade. The rifle shipped with an Eotech optic and fed from 9 mm Glock magazines.
Proof’s in the Shooting
Fire season had shut down my shooting spot on BLM land in southern Arizona, but my colleague Robert Jordan was kind enough to invite me to shoot with him at his home range, Cowtown, near Phoenix.
We had a 50-yard bay and that allowed me to test the Wilson Combat AR-9 for accuracy. I fired all of my groups from a seated rest using a DOA Tactical portable bench and rested the handguard on a Caldwell Tack Driver sand filled rest. The EOTech holographic sight provides a very bright and distinct aiming point but does not magnify the target as a scope would. Nonetheless, I was able to produce some very nice groups. Three groups were fired with each ammunition, and the best group is recorded in the accuracy chart.
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After shooting for groups, we set up several targets like a USPSA stage. It didn’t take long to realize that the AR-9’s quick handling characteristics were tremendously effective.
My doubletaps were right on top of each other and, again, I have to credit the trigger. Its reset was very firm and this is what makes shooting the AR-9 so quickly possible. The trigger is not so light that I couldn’t prep it as I transitioned from target to target, adding enough pressure to break the shot as the Eotech’s red dot lined up on target. By the way, you can purchase this trigger as an after-market accessory if you already have an AR pattern 9mm carbine or pistol. Wilson Combat calls this part the Tactical Trigger Unit (TTU) and the item number is TR-TTU-9mm and it is well worth the money!
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Wilson Combat AR-9 PCC Shooting Results
Ammo
Velocity
Energy
Group
Black Hills 115-grain JHP
1413
509
1.22”
Black Hills 125-grain Honey Badger
888
218
1.52”
Doubletap 124-grain FMJ RN Match
1125
348
1.46”
Federal Syntech Action Pistol 150-grain TSJ
1025
350
1.39”
HOP Munitions 124-grain JHP
1319
479
1.48”
Nosler 147-grain ASP Suppressor Ready JHP
849
235
1.62”
Wilson Combat 135-grain HBFN
1034
320
1.42”
Average:
1.44”
Black Hill’s 115-grain JHP rounds produced a 5-shot group under an inch and a quarter at 50-yards. This load also produced the most energy with over 500-foot-pounds of energy. If you’re wondering about the velocity increase with the AR-9’s 16” barrel I found loads averaged between 8-10% faster than through a 4” pistol barrel.
My largest group was just 1.62” and I found this to be an amazing level of accuracy especially considering that I didn’t use a scope with magnification. The AR-9’s single stage trigger, which broke crisply with 2 ½ pounds of pressure was a joy to work with.
Buy Once, Cry One
You can undoubtedly find cheaper AR-pattern 9mm PCC carbines. But by the time you upgrade the parts to make it comparable to the Wilson AR-9, you’ll have spent much more money than the suggested starting price of $2100. Spend the money with no regrets and the knowledge that you own one of the best 9mm carbines in the world! Whether your needs are for competition or home defense, Wilson Combat’s AR-9 won’t let you down!
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